The Talk (About Tartarus)
by secrethouseofbooks
Summary: Annabeth is grabbed away by the messenger of the Fates for an unusual talk. No, not the birds and bees one. / All dialogue. Humor and weirdness, but mostly sadness and sort-of angst. Rated T for the descriptions of Tartarus.


"Oh gods, I'm going to kill you - whoever put me behind this blindfold - Clarisse!"

"No, it's not Clarisse. Now, here are the instructions. You will keep this blindfold on for the duration of this interview, or, if it makes you feel a little more in control, you can take it off, but you must turn around."

"What interview? Why - mmphgh!"

"No questions. Now, are you keeping the blindfold on, or not?"

"... I guess not."

"Good, I had the feeling you would say that. Now, turn around - no tricks. You aren't allowed to see me."

"Why not? What's going to happen to me if I do?"

"I said, no questions - but I'll answer the second one. The Fates will strike you down if you see me. This is for your protection only. Now turn around and let me take off your blindfold."

"Okay, I've followed all your directions. Please note I'm waiting for you to tell me what this is all about - that's not technically a question."

"This is an interview - "

"As you have already stated."

" - to understand the depth of your feelings about Tartarus. I am the messenger of the Fates."

"... oh gods no. TARTARUS? I still have nightmares about that place. Please, anything but Tartarus."

"No can do, Annabeth. And before you ask how I know your name, messenger of the Fates, remember?"

"... but I'm even begging. I _never_ beg. Not Tartarus. Please."

"I'm really sorry, Annabeth, but I can't refuse the Fates. They determine your life, remember? I'm still under their control."

"Why not Percy, or Nico? They've gone through Tartarus too…"

"To be perfectly frank, Annabeth, you are the strongest of them, mentally. You can go through horrifying memories without breaking down. The only reason Percy and Nico don't have nightmares is because they shove the memories away, pack them into a box into the back of their mind and try to never think of them, ever. If they dredge the memories up again in full detail, they will go into an emotional coma. The Fates have seen the possible outcomes of those paths, the paths where I question them instead of you, and in both cases, you are crying over Percy or Nico's still body in the infirmary. That would be bad - for both them, and you."

"Fine. Okay. Let's do this."

"Excellent. You're doing much better than the Fates and I have hoped. Tartarus isn't someone - sorry, somewhere - people can just stroll into, you know - it wasn't made for humans."

"Oh, I didn't know that. I thought I went into Tartarus and had a pleasant walk past the River of Fire and the Mountains of Despair every day."

"Don't get sarcastic with me, young lady."

"But I like being sarcastic - "

"- **Annabeth**."

"Fine. When I fell into Tartarus, I was clutching Percy's hand so hard that I think he lost feeling in that hand for a while. When ultimately, I lost grip of his hand, I fell alone, and falling alone is an infinitely worse experience."

"And why is it worse?"

"Don't you know? Once you've lost human contact, it feels like you're all alone in the world. Nobody is there for you, nobody there to share the sadness. It's like bearing the weight of the sky, except instead of physical weight, it's emotional weight. If you're not careful, you could lose literally all joy and hope from your body - Tartarus has a way of being able to do that to you."

"And when you fell into the River of Lost and Tortured Souls?"

"I'm not sure that's the specific name for it, but take what I just told you and multiply by ten. Instead of just having yourself unleashing emotional weight on, the souls of the tortured are around you, crying, dragging you down, and trying to add on more emotion, if possible."

"Okay. What were your feelings on having to drink fire?"

"I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I always knew we were going to have to face the Phlegethon's waters, but I preferred to put those thoughts off, until we both got too tired to go on, and by that point, all I was capable of feeling about that was a sick sort of resignation, that this would be my fate. I had no qualms about actually cupping the water - if you could actually call it that - up and drinking it, though. "

"Sounds very painful."

"Yeah, but it was just really spicy - like, literally-burn-your-tongue-off spicy, fiery - actual fire - and it absolutely reeked of gasoline."

"Poor you. Okay, next question. When Percy turned the goddess of Misery's own poison against her, what did you feel, and what do you think he felt?"

"Can we not talk about this?"

"Annabeth, what did I tell you about the Fates and their orders?"

"Right, right. Percy was… terrifying in that moment. He looked like a god. But not the good kind of god, the ones that actually care about their children. He looked like Poseidon in his cruelest hours, and what really scared me was that he actually had the power to back up the image of being Poseidon. And he wasn't afraid to use it. Right then, he was the image of everything he hates and never wanted to be, ever, like Gabe, his stepfather, and such. And I know that he hated that moment and is deeply disturbed by it because of his own wanting to kill her. He tries to hide it and never talk about it, but there is a reason things happen. I'm trying to figure it out… but not even daughters of Athena can uncover mysteries that are meant to stay hidden."

"..."

"Yeah."

"I'm regretting asking this question."

"But.. the Fates."

"Screw the Fates, I don't care if I die right now. That's not something anyone should have to remember."

"Imagine _living it._ Can we forget about this for now?"

"All right. I can sympathize. What did you think as the arai attacked Percy?"

"Why are all these questions about Percy?"

"Not all of them, come on. The Fates are just morbidly interested in you and Percy."

"Okay, I understand. Well, as Percy was being attacked, I had a curse put on me, if you recall - "

"I actually don't know the full extent of what happened down there - only the Fates and yourselves know that - but I do know the basic idea of what happened. The Fates were the ones who compiled this list of questions to ask you. Although when we're done with this interview I will have to ask the Fates the full story, since you sound like you've gone through a lot."

"No shit, Sherlock. Anyway, I do remember at the beginning, I thought they looked like the Kindly Ones, but that was quickly driven away by the fact that they didn't have whips - and the fact that they carried a curse every time you killed one. Yeah, that was the clincher."

"Annabeth, you are straying from the topic."

"Okay, sorry, sorry. As Percy was being attacked, I was being attacked as well - I couldn't exactly think rationally about Percy over all the curses except, a desire to protect him and make sure he was doing all right. Once one of the arai hit him with Calypso's curse, though, it was like the fall from Tartarus all over again."

"And… ?"

"Which is complete and utter loneliness, as I have already mentioned, and I couldn't be sure that he hadn't abandoned me. Of course, him abandoning me would be stupid, but still. Calypso's curse just kind of made me totally alone and mistrusting of everything. Like, completely."

"I'm impressed."

"...WHA? WHAT? WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU BE IMPRESSED? THAT WAS ME IN MY WEAKEST MOMENT."

"Yeah, but you managed. And you lived. And the fact that you lived through it all, and fought Gaia… well, I'm impressed, no matter what you say."

"When you put it that way, it sounds a lot more heroic and braver than I've been thinking about it."

"Well, yeah, because I'm an outsider, and as such, can give an outsider perspective on it."

"Great. Can I go now?"

"Not quite yet. Just one last thing."

"Shoot."

"Okay. What did you feel when you came out of Tartarus, other than the obvious relief…?"

"I was actually more struck with a _Oh my gods, I'm alive_. But other than that, it was extremely hazy, because, you know, I had just been through the most stressful twelve minutes of my life. Holding the elevator doors together - the Void between Tartarus and Earth is much more dangerous than Tartarus itself. I was happy to see my friends again, though. I wish I could've savored that moment longer than I was able to, because _friends_."

"Understood. Alright, that concludes your interview with the messenger of the Fates… until we meet again, although I really hope I never have to meet you again - for your own safety, you understand - Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

"Where did you go? What? Hellooo? … Wait a second. WHY AM I IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STRAWBERRY FIELDS, FATES' MESSENGER?"

"… Um. Annabeth? Are you okay…?"

"NO! WHY ON EARTH WOULD I BE OKAY, KATIE? THE STUPID FATES' MESSENGER PLOPPED ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STRAWBERRY FIELDS. I WAS IN THE BIG HOUSE. I DIDN'T EVEN FEEL MYSELF MOVE. WHAT DID HE DO TO ME?"

"Will? Can you come over here? I think Annabeth has a _problem…"_

 **Okay, I know this isn't what I normally write, but I've been reading a lot of angsty fanfics lately, and this is the baby. Anyway, review (please tell me if it's up to standards?) please! Hope you enjoyed.**


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